Preceding Overwrite
by The Light's Refrain
Summary: A deadly virus sweeps through the DigiDestined of 01 and 02. Where did it come from, and why is it targeting only the DigiDestined? Can they survive? Note: Has swearing and blood, not for younger kids.
1. The Usual

_It's my first fic on Okay, it should be known that this is a dark fic. It gets really brutal at points. It's the prequel to another fic I'll have coming up shortly, so it's a bit on the short side. Please R+R, constructive critisism welcome and wanted, but please don't flame. Rated T, might raise it later._

_Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, why would I be writing this here?_

**Just Another Day**

"Go get 'im Tai!" Kari shouted from the crammed stands of the school soccer field. Her normally neat, straight hair of brownish hue was somewhat frazzled from all the excitement rushing through her. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt devoid of color with an orange skirt that stopped just above her knee. Because of this choice of attire, she had to be somewhat careful about how much she bounced around while cheering her older brother on.

Tai's hair, which had always been frazzled and sticking up everywhere, was slick with sweat as he zipped down the field with the ball. His soccer outfit of white and blue was now complemented by blotches of green thanks to his rough-and tumble antics across the field. With a sleek kick, the ball screeched past the goalie and caused a roar of pleasure to erupt from the stands.

"Yeah! Go Tai!" Sora yelled, not far away from Kari. Her hair was bit longer and springier than Kairi's, and it was colored orange instead of brown. She was also wearing a sleeveless shirt and a skirt a bit shorter than Kairi's. Their colors were much more vibrant though; the shirt was yellow and the skirt was blue with white around the edges. "Kill im! Kill im!"

Right next to Kari was TK, hollering with all he had. "That's it! Kick 'im to the moon!" His white, somewhat baggy hat had somehow managed to cling to his head during all his chaotic cheering. From beneath the hat, some blonde hair was peeking out. His jersey was the color of sky with clouds: the school's colors. His shorts mirrored the shirt.

"Where's Matt at?" Kari asked.

"HUH?"

"WHERE'S MATT AT!"

"HUH?"

"MATT!"

"OH!" TK exclaimed. "HE'S SICK WITH THE FLU!"

"STILL?"

"YEAH," TK shouted back, trying to overrule the crowd "HE SAYS IT SUCKS!"

"MAKES SENSE," Kari, answered, then put her focus back on the game.

The other team had just taken possession the ball and were heading for the opposing goal. Tai tried to steal back the black-and-white patched sphere, but was blocked by the other team's players.

The boy swerved towards the net, planted a solid strike on the ball, and gave it the power to streak past the goalie. The other set of seats hollered as the score became evened at 1-to-1.

"Aw, man, I think my head is gonna explode..." Izzy mumbled, drowned out by the hysteria of the others around him. His crimson hair, usually combed back and slick to near perfection, was now the pointy mess it was always destined to be. He simply wore a pale green shirt with some cut-off jeans. A cheap school jacket was lying next to him. He regretted ever bringing it, considering how hot it was. All he could think about was how he wanted to be at home with his computer, not a sound to be heard besides the tapping of the buttons on the keyboard and the occasional mouse click...

Right next to Izzy, just as thrilled about this insanity as he was, was another old friend known as Joe. He possessed more height than Izzy, which was quite easy as the red-head was a bit on the short side. His hair was a blackened blue, going down almost to his shoulders. His specs were streaked with sweat, and no matter how many times he cleaned them they always seemed to get dirty again five minutes later. He'd given up on them a while ago. His clothes were odd for such an event; a white buttoned shirt with thin blue stripes running across it vertically, and some black sweatpants.

"Man, why'd I ever let them talk me into this?' he whined. "I really should be studying for that big test tomorrow..."

"Hey, it's for Tai,' Izzy replied.

"Well, yeah, but..." Joe began

It took them while to realize that the very fact that they could hear each other meant that something was very very wrong. They averted the gaze down to the field.

Tai was on his side, out cold.

**Don't Worry**

"Tai! Don't scare us like that!" Sora yelled, about ready to go on a nervous breakdown.

"Sorry bout that..." Tai chuckled, rubbing the back of his head a bit. He was sitting up in the white bed of the nurse's office. He'd been awake for a while now.

"What happened?" Izzy asked.

"Dunno," Tai admitted. "The coach said that I was probably dehydrated, with it being so hot and all."

He sighed and plopped back down onto the bed, making it bounce some. "Either way, I'm outta the game now. The coach won't let me back in."

"Well, I would think so,' TK replied. "After all, you did kinda pass out back there."

Tai snorted. "It was only for a few minutes."

"Well, you just get yourself some rest," Kari insisted. "Mom will be here to pick us up soon."

"Aww...can't I at least stay to watch the game?' Tai whined.

"I talked to Mom on the phone, and she said it was totally out of the question,' Kari answered.

Tai let out another pouty groan and turned over. "Fine..."

Kari looked back hen she noticed Izzy was coughing some. "You okay?'

Izzy sighed. "Man, I think I'm getting whatever Matt's got..."

Everyone backed away from him about five feet.

"Yeah, I know..." Izzy grinned. "I'm gonna get my folks to come pick me up too. No reason for staying if Tai's not gonna be here."

He ambled out of the room, starting to cough again as he exited out of the doorway.

"The flu's really bad this year," Tai commented, sitting back up again.

'Yeah," Joe agreed. " I hope Matt gets better before his concert starts."

"Really,' Tai replied. "It's gonna be his biggest show he's ever had, right?"

"Yeah," TK answered. "He's really psyched about it. I heard there's gonna be some famous record companies coming through here soon. If that concert is successful, he could have a shot at being a really big star."

"Yeah, imagine it,' Sora stated. "A close friend of ours on the cover of TeenFever magazine!"

"Meh," Tai replied. "Well, I'm gonna be even more famous than he is! I'm gonna be the best soccer player there is! That's way cooler than being a rock star anyway."

Sora chuckled. "Oh really?"

"Hey, whaddaya mean _oh really_!" Tai snapped back. "Who would you choose: Matt the Rockstar or Tai the Almighty Champion of Soccer!"

"Well, I dunno," Sora replied in a mocking tone, turning her back towards Tai and taking exaggerated steps away from him. "That's a tough choice..."

"No it's not!" Tai exclaimed.

"Tai! Mom's here!" Kari called out from the other end of the room.

"Hmph," Tai growled. "See ya later then."

He reluctantly followed his younger sister from the room.

**Only Five Minutes**

"You mean you really did pass out!" Yolei exclaimed, her huge glasses making her eyes seem like they were about to shoot out of her head. Like everyone else, she was wearing her school outfit, which consisted of mostly white and pale blue. She carried her dark green bookbag on her back. Her long hair was pink with a faint purple hue to it, and draped well past her shoulders.

"Yep," Tai replied, not seeming too worried about it. His backpack was black streaked with red, and unlike Yolei's his could roll across the floor, which he was taking full advantage of at the moment.

"But that's serious!" Cody answered, looking up at Tai as much as he could. Unlike the other two, his uniform was colored a dark green. School had ended for the time being, and he had met up with the two of them not long ago. Being considerably younger than the two of them, Yolei and Tai towered over him. His darkened brown hair was cut very short; a standard boy hairstyle, really. "I heard you had to be sprayed with cold water just to wake you up."

"Yeah, and I also heard that I had to be taken to the hospital, go into surgery to have a brain tumor removed, and then tranquilized for six hours after that,' Tai replied, reciting things that he wished he'd make up himself. "I was only out for five minutes, that's it."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay though?" Cody asked still concerned. "Have you been feeling dizzy or anything?"

"Nah," Tai replied. "I am kinda tired, and my body hurts all over, but that's only because I played so hard last night. Hell, we would've won if I'd been there the whole game."

"That's awfully arrogant of you,' Yolei replied, smirking a little.

"What's so bad about that?" Tai responded, grinning. Then he glanced around. "Hey, where's Davis at?"

"Oh, well apparently he gets to start his summer vacation early," Yolei griped. "He's somewhere in Australia now."

"Hey, no fair!" Tai whined. "Couldn't he have waited two more weeks!"

"I guess not," Yolei replied. "Anyways, he's off to see his uncle."

"How long is he gonna be down there?" Tai asked.

"He said he was gonna be there all summer long,' Yolei answered.

"Aw, man, that sucks,' Tai complained. "I was hoping to beat him at a few soccer matches."

"Yeah, Davis wasn't too happy about that," Cody chimed in. "He was moaning and whining about he wouldn't be able to spend any time with us this summer and that all there'd be to do is ride on kangaroos and run away from dingos."

Tai laughed. "Well then, I'm glad I get to stay here then."

"Me too,' replied Yolei. "Awww, poor Davis. He'll be missing all the fun."

**Home Sweet Home**

"I'm home!" Kari yelled as she stepped through the front door. "And I got the groceries!"

"Oh thank you Kari," Mom replied, smiling over at her. "I'm making three bean salad and liver sticks for dinner."

"Okay Mom," Kari answered, not really interested in her "healthy" meals, but pretending she was all the same.

She was strolling through the living room when she noticed her brother slumped across the couch, watching some TV program about dinosaurs. He looked utterly miserable.

"What's your problem?" Kari asked, poking at his shoulder.

"I don't feel good," Tai whined, sluggishly turning onto his stomach.

"So you're sick huh?"

"Yeah..."

"What kind of sick?"

"Achy, tired, feel-like-I'm-gonna-puke sick," Tai replied.

"Lovely," Kari responded sarcastically. "Think this might have had something to do with last night?"

"I dunno..."Tai admitted. "Maybe...though I didn't start feeling really sick until just before I got home."

"I see..."Kari replied. "Well, you just get some rest. After all, Matt's concert is coming up, and you don't wanna miss that."

"I know..."he muttered. "Dammit, I think he's the one who got me sick..."

Kari chuckled. "Well, he can't help that much, now can he?"

"Yes he can,' Tai grumbled. "He can talk to us online more instead of in person. You can't pick up his germs that way.'

Kari giggled some more. "Guess you're right."

Tai sighed. "Oh well..."Least I don't have any more games I need to worry about."

"That's true..." Kari agreed. "Hey Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"When are you gonna start going out with Sora?"

Tai fell off the couch. Only one of his feet remained on the sofa.

"Are you nuts!" Tai exclaimed, quickly sitting back up. "I'd never go out with her! She'd eat me alive!"

"Oh, I dunno,' Kari answered. "I'd think she'd like it if your asked her out."

"Well she can forget it!" Tai answered, defiantly looking up at the ceiling.

"You better hurry up or Matt might get her," Kari teased.

Tai's face possessed a very strange expression on it. "Hmph, he can have her!"

"Okay, I'll go tell him then.'

Kari began to stroll out of the room.

"Hey wait!" Tai protested. He wanted to get up and chase after her, but decided it wasn't worth the effort and plopped back down on the floor. "Stupid sister..."

**Nothing But Schoolwork**

"Where's Tai?" asked Sora, looking at the empty seats three chairs away.

"Oh, he's sick with the flu like everyone else," Joe replied casually, not lifting his eyes from the report he was writing.

"What about Izzy?"

"Sick."

"Yolei?"

"Sick."

"Cody?'

"Sick."

Sora sighed. "Man, at this rate, nobody will be there but us," Sora whined.

"I know," Joe responded. "And we still have exams too."

"Yeah..." Sora replied. "Man, high school sucks. Whatever happened to the days when we could just run around and play on the last days of school?"

"Real life happened, I guess."

Sora and Joe sighed together.

"Oh well, at least we have summer to look forward to, right?' Sora asked.

"Right," Joe replied, smiling.

"And just what are you two doing?" a voice growled behind them.

Both of them snapped around to see a rather large, obese woman glaring down at them.

"Um...working, ma'am," Sora replied nervously.

"Good,' the woman responded. 'And it better stay that way."

The two of them grumbled faintly as they turned their attention span back to their papers.

As Sora began to working again, for a split second every image in her field of vision seemed to have a reflection overlapping itself. Her eyelids drooped to cover half of her sight. She let out a slight moan.

"Sora?"

She snapped her head back to Joe. "Oh, it's nothing. Just sick of all this work."

_Well, tell me what you think. I know it's kinda slow right now, but I promise that'll change soon. R+R, please! _


	2. Long Lost Overshadow

_Thank you for your reviews. I'm still getting the hang of the document handling system, so if a chapter seems weird, that's probably why XD._

_Now as for the reviews:_

_Priestess kurumi inu's sister: Really? I didn't mean to. Guess I'll have to work on that. But I'm glad you're enjoying the story._

_Litnaya: The part where Davis is talking about riding on kangaroos and running away from dingos is a joke on how he really doesn't know anything about Australia XD. Sorry if it offended you in any way._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. The characters are merely staying over in my brain so I can do this story. _

Data Set 6: Uninteresting Email

Ken sat at his onyx laptop, typing away. The hotel room was shadowed, as the light bulb just blew out only a few minutes ago. His black hair was made to look even darker than usual. It went down just past his face, getting longer as it went towards the front The main source of light was now from Mother Nature itself; her sunlight glided through the window and rested on the somewhat pale face of the drifting DigiDestined.

Well, traveling would be more accurate. Since he got nearly perfect scores on everything, as he always did, he was excused from the exams. Now, his parents were dragging him all over the country to find just the right college for him. It bored him more than anything else, really. Not that it wasn't important, it's just he was growing tired of bouncing from place to place. Besides, he wanted to see his friends. 

While was reading some interesting science fan fiction, a soulless voice droned from the speakers.

_You got mail_

He glanced at the corner of the screen. Sure enough, one new message had arrived.

He laid his cursor on the mailbox. Moments later, a info box appeared, revealing the title of the message and

_Hey Kenny Boy!_

That was it. No address was to be found.

Ken's blue-shaded eyes shrunk, and a small gasp escaped from his throat.

Only one person had ever called him that.

He immediately opened the email and absorbed its contents as fast as he could.

_Kenny Boy! It's been awhile. Sorry I didn't contact you sooner, but it's taking me forever to make this stupid thing work. And that's saying a lot. _

So...how're you doing? Mom and Dad aren't too worried about me, are they? Made any new friends while I've gone? Oh yeah, I've been just fine. Just exploring stuff, figuring things out, getting lost. That kind of thing.

Oh yeah, don't reply to this. I don't think it'll get through. But can you meet me at the Fourth Forest Terminal? After all, it has been awhile. Don't worry about the time; just come whenever you can.

Well see ya!

"Ken?" his mother called out.

Ken let out a yelp and slammed his laptop down.

"What's the matter dear?"

"Oh, it's nothing,' Ken reassured her. "You just surprised me, that's all."

"Oh my sorry," she replied. "We'll be going to BlueCreek College now."

"Okay Mom," Ken replied. He opened up his laptop and hastily deleted the email. "I'll be getting ready."

Data Set 7: Only Him

It was early into the next day. In fact, it was so early that Ken's parents were still deep in slumber.

But Ken didn't feel like sleeping. Not with the restlessness surging through his blood. He unpacked his laptop and activated it. While the computer was waking up, he scavenged something else from his somewhat organized belongings: a black Digivice.

_"I know this is stupid. I know I should call the others," _he thought as he witnessed the laptop preparing itself from whatever use its master may have in mind. _"But...I have to do this on my own. I have to know if its really him..."_

When the laptop was done unpackaging itself, Ken held the Digivice up to the screen.

Instantly the screen began to flux, forcing all the colors to mix with each other. He could feel it drawing him in, pulling him to that other world that all DigiDestined were chosen to protect.

Within a few moments, he felt his body being morphed into blinding light and rushing through the portal.

_"Don't worry, Mom..Dad...'_ he thought. _"I'll be right back..."_

"Ken!" a familiar voice called.

Ken fluttered his eyes. Right above him was his very own Digimon partner. He had the appearance of a olive-hued caterpillar, only he was about the size of your usual house cat. Two zigzagging antenna that matched the body were on his head. The sideways jaws he had for a mouth were of a deep purple. 

"Hey, Wormmon," Ken answered, getting up.

"It's nice to see you Ken,' Wormmon replied. "But what brings you here?"

Flashes of the email zipped across his mind, reminding him of his purpose for coming here. 

"I'm...investigating something I've heard,' Ken answered, feeling that it would not be best to go into details. If he heard the true reason he had come here, Wormmon would probably think he'd gone insane.

"Oh, I see,' Wormmon replied. "But what is it that you're investigating?"

"Well..." Ken paused, trying to think of the right words. "I heard that there's a DigiDestined lost here, and I'm off to find him."

"Oh?" Wormmon replied. "What's his name?"

"I dunno, it's just rumors,' Ken replied too hastily.

Wormmon cocked his head. "Ken?"

"Anyway, I heard that he was last spotted at the Fourth Forest Terminal, which isn't too far from here," Ken added quickly. "Let's go.'

"Allright..."Wormmon replied.

There had been a reason why he hadn't just warped to the Fourth Forest Terminal. If it indeed was a trick, then he'd probably take him out as soon as he entered the Terminal. So he entered through the Third Terminal instead.

As he hurriedly headed for his destination, he tried to keep an eye out for possible enemies or traps. Although really, Wormmon would be much better at that than he would be.

His partner rode on his shoulder, ready to Digivolve if necessary. With the suspicious look he gave to every rock and bush, he almost seemed menacing. Almost.

He dashed down a hollowed wood tunnel of leaves as he began to leave the Third Terminal. The lifeless discards of the plants fled from Ken's rushing body. As the tunnel continued to dip, he wasn't so much running than slipping down the smoothed tree bark. It was almost like one of those plastic slides children play on, as the direction of the tunnel writhed and twisted. Gravity was tugging Ken down the spiraling ride faster and faster, making no regard of the various debris that also lay in the tunnel. Eventually, the tunnel went straight down and left Ken freefalling for what seemed the longest time.

Then suddenly, it was over.

He found himself in a flowered forest, with all kinds of vines clinging to the trees.

The Fourth Terminal.

And right there was the very person he'd come to see.

"Sam..." he muttered.

Data Set 8: Fragments of the Insignificant Past

And there he stood before him, not ten feet away. He still wore those rather large glasses, his hair was still as blue and messed up as ever, and he still wore that calm smile.

Ken could find nothing to say. 

"K-Ken?" Wormmon stuttered, using one of his many legs to point to the older boy. "Is that who I think it is?" 

"Yes," Ken replied, seeming to be almost unruffled by the appearance of his theoretically deceased sibling. Almost.

"Hey, Kenny Boy," he called out casually, strolling over to him. "Howya been?"

"Fine," Ken responded. "Been a while.'

"I know,' Sam replied. "How long _has_ it been?"

"About eight years."

"That long?" Sam questioned. "Damn...'

Ken chuckled, still not quite sure whether to relax or not. "So, how's it feel like after being struck by a car?"

"I dunno," Sam replied. "Not like I've ever been hit by one."

The DigiDestined's eyes narrowed. "So you're really not him."

Sam's expression became more serious. "Look, don't tell me that you actually believed him."

Ken gave him an odd look. "What do you mean?"

Sam sighed. "Well...I've heard that Oikawa turned good at some point, but...you do know how manipulative he could be."

"Yes, but that's in the past now,' Ken replied. "Besides, he's dead."

"Yeah, I heard that too,' Sam added quietly. "But...that's not the point. I'm sure you know of his little...experiments with others.'

"What are you getting at?" Ken asked, not particularly liking where this was going.

Sam kept his words to himself.

"...So, what really happened?" Ken growled, his eyes narrowing again.

"Heh, wish I knew,' Sam replied, almost nonchalantly. When Ken looked down at his feet, he realized that the ground around Sam was warping like water. A screeching sound was echoing from his body, but his mouth remained closed. "All I remember is that it hurt like hell.'

"As you can see, the Digital World doesn't like me much," Sam stated, watching the normally still trees writhing around unnaturally. "I was damn lucky just to get out here in the first place.' The forest was now emitting a contrasting squall that seemed to come from everywhere. Sam's image itself began to flux.

"Well, I think I better get outta here,' Sam replied, not seeming to be concerned by his warping voice or body. "Well, see ya later, I guess."

Sam has just begun to be morphed into a strange, mirroring light when he decided to suddenly stop the process.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, here,' he added hastily.

He flung a necklace towards Ken, who made sure to catch it.

"Trust me, it'll come in handy,' Sam stated.

And with that he let himself be transformed into that odd reflecting light and shot into the sky.

The forest quieted himself after he departed, as if nothing had ever occurred there. For quite a few instants nothing was done by anyone; at least, not on the outside

Ken finally allowed his hand to unclench the necklace. It had a simple gray string holding it together, with only a single object upon it. That object was what appeared to be a shard of a black control spire, with a piece of a golden ring that once surrounded a Destiny Stone wrapped around it halfway. Ken noticed a drop of blood on its topmost edge, and realized that his hand was bleeding.

"What do you think this all means?" Wormmon asked, still trying to process everything that just happened.

"I dunno..." Ken admitted, still staring at the necklace that had just been giving to him by someone he thought he would never see again. "I guess we'll just have to see..."

_Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We'll be getting to the main part of the story in the next chapter. Please R&R_.


	3. Burning, Racing Avalanche

_Me: Well, I think I've gotten the hang of this document stuff now XD._

_Izzy: Took you long enough_

_Me: Oh be quiet. So what if I'm not a super genius like you? _

_Tai: Yeah, I couldn't get that stuff either _

_Sora: You can't get anything_

_Tai: Hey!_

_Me: Okay, anyways, I don't own Digimon, and these guys probably wouldn't be very happy if I did._

**No Problem**

"Are you sure Matt?" TK asked, as he lay upon his brother's rather disorganized bed in his rather disorganized room. Matt was nearby, packing various objects into his ratty black backpack. He seemed to be quite tired, as he was doing this somewhat sluggishly.

"Of course I am!" Matt announced. "There's no way I can pass this up."

"But you're still sick,' TK protested. 

"So?" Matt replied. "If I can still sing, then there's no problem." His body shook a little, but he ignored it.

TK still wasn't convinced. "This isn't just some random cold. You've been out of it all week.'

"So I should be getting better now, right?' Matt countered, still packing.

TK sighed. "You still seem pretty sick to me."

"I'm allright," Matt answered in an annoyed tone. "Besides, the concert's tonight. I can't wait any longer."

Then he looked back at his younger sibling for the first time ever since this conversation started. "Tell you what, if I pass out while I'm on stage, then you'll know I ain't ready for it."

TK simply nodded. It was quite apparent that Matt had made up his mind. "Fine...'

"Allright then," Matt replied cheerfully, having completed the task of filling his backpack.

As he left, he added "See you at the concert! I promise it won't be like anything you've even seen!"

**Listen To the Crowd Cheer**

The time had finally descended upon them. Matt's concert was being held at the middle of the park, where Matt felt they could hear him best. Sure, he could just go to some entertainment center and have it there, but this way maybe some wayward recording company agents who happened to pass by could be hypnotized by his mesmerizing melodies. Besides, all the usual spots were booked.

Kari and TK were making their way down to the park. They could barely catch sight of the scarlet sunset fringed with gold and magenta peeking above the numerous trees.

"How come he didn't have his concert earlier?" Kari asked, admiring the grand fall of the sun.

"Oh, you know him,' TK started. "He wanted to make his concert the most unforgettable anyone's ever seen, so he wanted to have the sunset shining behind him and his band to make them look all cool and stuff."

"Sounds about right,' Kari replied with a chuckle.

TK sighed a little, but made sure put up a hasty smile. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna laugh my head off if it's the most forgettable performance in his career," TK replied, chuckling a little. "Man, he'd be so pissed."

"Watch your language,' Kari responded almost robotically.

They paused and looked at each other, then burst out laughing for no apparent reason as they continued.

As they went down the final hill, they found the stage and its performers waiting for them. Other friends, including Sora, Joe, and, despite common sense, Yolei, had also arrived before them. Various fangirls were flocking to the site as well.

"Oh my god, there he is!' said one. "He's even hotter than I thought he'd be."

"Wow, he is so cool," another spoke. 

"He's so dreamy,' yet another added. "Sigh...I wanna marry him."

Matt paid no attention to this rabid gabber, noticing only his friends just beyond them.

"Hey, where is everybody?" Matt called out to them. "The concert's gonna start in a few minutes!"

"They're all sick,' Sora replied. "Thanks to you."

"Why you always have to blame everything on me?" Matt teased back. 

He finally took note of the ever-expanding crowd of unknown females gathering at the edge of the stage, goggling at him rather oddly. "Allright! Calm down, ladies. Everyone to your seats, show's about to start!"

It took little time to set the scene. The drummer, the other guitarists, and all other necessary members had been collected onstage. Their instrument lay ready in their able hands, eager to unleash their sound upon the huge audience below. Whitened smoke poured upon the stage, licking at the band's feet. That was the signal for it all.

The music blasted out of the instruments, their intensity amplified by the towering speakers behind and beside them. The energy of the melody trembled throughout the bodies of the spectators, burrowing right into their core. With a deep breath, Matt added his voice to the cocktail of sound.

_Sudden anxiety over not understanding myself, it's always aiming for us  
We were deluded by secondhand information and useless commonsense_

_If everyday is tinged with boredom like this, do you even want to go along  
today?  
Instead of pretending to be something we don't know, let's find our reality  
The one thing we can't give away, our pride, hidden in our hearts_

_Let's start running, not for anyone else, but because it's better than stopping  
Cutting through the clear air, turning toward the bright ocean  
Oh keep on running keep on running  
Find out your reality._

The spectators yelled as loud as they could, but they were no match for the music.

_There's no time to hesitate in front of the new door  
Just run up, jump out there, and kick the door down_

A few wisps of a smoke with no color scared away some of the white mist that had settled itself onto the stage. Only the fact that it somewhat distorted the appearance of the space through it made it visible. The shreds of fog orbited loosely around Matt's feet, but none noticed its presence.

_If it's you, you can definitely do it._

There was a bit of crackling in the speakers, but the melodies of the band stomped all over them.

_I wrapped up my invisible anxieties in you but your eyes are lost  
Your wavering confidence is different than usual, our bodies are trembling.  
Because I don't want that type of self, will you hold me in your arms?  
It's too early to close your eyes, let's look at our reality  
We're not helpless; we'll do the best with our courage_

At Matt's heels there was a odd flickering, like a old TV not quite able to keep its vision in focus anymore. The singer shifted a little, but his eyes still remained on the audience.

_Let's find it, not for anyone else, but because it's better than giving up  
Pull free from those cowardly feelings and search for a real answer  
Oh keep on running keep on running  
Find out your reality._

His voice wavered a little, and he appeared a bit pale.

_The door to the new world isn't locked or anything  
So have confidence, keep going, and kick the door open_

He fumbled on the last few words, and the song lost its consistency. The spectators began to murmur among themselves.

_If it's you, you can definitely..._

The music was far ahead of him. He couldn't seem to catch his breath.

"Matt?" TK called out. "Matt!" 

He didn't seem to hear him. His eyes looked glazed over. The bits of translucent fog became much more apparent as they began to gain size and forced all other fog out of its way. It swirled around Matt closely. The speakers began screaming nonsense instead of music.

"What the hell! Matt!" Joe called out. Then he heard a shrill cry from his DigiVice, which he kept with him at all times, just in case. He hastily brought it out.

The screen said nothing, only flashed red and white over and over.

_Virus_

Static ridges rushed up and down his body. Matt's eyes shut themselves tightly, and his knees began to buckle, ready to crash down.

Only he didn't crash down. Instead, he was raising upwards slowly, his body limp. The flickering of his body suddenly intensified, making it warp in impossible ways, until everything faded out altogether.

All that remained was a peaceless quiet.

**Everyone Stay Calm**

The silence did not last long. Soon it was pushed aside by sounds of fear and dread coming from everyone present in the audience. Some were running off to get the police, others just babbled on and on to see if there was someone here that actually understood what just occurred. The remaining band members scurried all over the stage, hoping that this was just some joke Matt had pulled to draw attention to himself and his concert.

At the back of the seats, the DigiDestined were packed close together, attempting to keep their words private.

"A virus from the Digital World!" TK questioned, his words kept at a low volume. "Are you sure?"

"That's what it looks like," Joe answered. His DigiVice was still in his tightened grasp.

"But why now?" Kari asked, an expression of fright controlling her facial features. "We haven't been to the Digital World in ages."

"I dunno," Sora replied. "Two years time isn't so long. After all, it was only fours years after the first adventure before there was trouble again."

"I guess you're right..." Kari answered. "But there hadn't been any signs that something was wrong until tonight. Well, I know Matt had gotten sick before that...but..."

"You didn't sense anything, Kari?" TK asked.

"No..." Kari admitted. She usually could sense trouble before it actually happened. "The only time I began to feel that's something was wrong was when Matt was beginning to mess up on his song..."

TK crossed his arms and moved his feet restlessly. "So now what the hell are we supposed to do!"

Suddenly Sora realized something. "Hey, where's Yolei?"

They spun their heads around in search of the girl with the glasses. They soon found her slumped over a chair, her face flushed.

"Hey Yolei!" Joe called out, running over to her.

"Unnnngh..." was her reply. 

The tall boy hastily peered at his DigiVice. It was flashing red and white, just like before, only this time it was slower and there was no cry emitting from the DigiVice.

Joe muttered something very lowly, then snapped back around to the others.

"Get everyone here now! This is no flu bug!"

Data Set 12: Orderly Chaos

Kari dashed up the sidewalk, making no mind that she wasn't the only one who was there. She had only thing set in her mind: She had to get back to Tai. Now. Running by her side was Sora, with the exact same goal.

Being the first to get infected after Matt, Tai was at the greatest risk. Of course, it could be that he just had the usual flu bug, but no chances were to be taken. Besides, he had passed out during that game...

They zipped up the stairs to the apartment. Oh, how much Sora and Kari wished that their Digimon could be here right now. It would've helped them reach their destination faster, and naturally Digimon knew more about digital viruses than humans did.

Kari banged on the door of her apartment. Her mom soon appeared as the door was opened.

"Oh, Kari dear. You're back alre-"

She didn't have time to complete her sentence, as Kari and Sora hurried past her.

They tore through the living room and to the door to Tai's bedroom. It was Sora who arrived there first. She jerked the handle. It was locked.

"Tai! Tai!" she yelled, hammering on the wood that blocked him off from the outside world. 

Darkness embraced the leader of the DigiDestined. The room had never felt so hot before; was the air conditioner broke _again_? Oh well, it didn't matter to him; he had no interest about getting up anyway. He decided it would be best to wait until the room stopped spinning first, and it hadn't been still for a while.

From a far-off place, he heard a thumping sound, and someone calling out his name.

"Five more minutes Mom,' he called back weakly.

"This isn't your mom!" the voice replied. "It's Sora!"

"Sora...?" Tai replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Tai, you need to get out here! Now!" Sora yelled from the blackness. 

"Nooo...go away..." Tai whined. "I'm tired..."

Strips of translucent mist circled patiently around his bed.

"NOW, Tai!" Sora barked. 

With an unheard grumble, he somehow managed to push himself upwards, though it felt like there were metals bricks strapped to his arms and legs. He forced himself to stand up and walk towards to door. Swirls of the vapor rotated around his ankles. "Coming..."

By some miracle, he made it across the vastness of his room, despite the area trying its hardest to rock him off his feet. He grabbed the door handle and undid the lock, letting the light of the rest of the house shine upon him.

Tai had one hand on the door to help support his weakening legs, then he looked up at Sora and Kari. He tried to get his vision focused, but his eyes wouldn't corporate.

"This better be good..." he grumbled.

"So I'm infected by some mystery virus from the Digital World?" Tai asked dully as he lay on the couch on his side, facing the TV. The two girls stood nearby, while his mother was scurrying around the kitchen, trying to figure out what might help Tai feel a bit better. Cause he certainly wasn't feeling better right now. "Well that's just great..."

Kari had gathered some covers and pulled them over her big brother. "You just take it easy." She rushed back into her room to go get something. A few moments later she came back with her DigiVice. It was flashing red and white at a fairly rapid rate, just as expected.

"Not like I have much of a choice..."Tai replied. He seriously doubted he could get up even if he wanted to. "Any idea what happened to Matt?" 

"Other than he was infected by the virus, no clue," Sora replied, as she dialed a number on her cellphone.

"So he just went _poof_ and that's it?" Tai asked, his voice growing fainter. "That sucks..." He was having trouble just keeping his eyes open.

His mom entered the room, carrying a damp cloth. "But why is this happening? I thought you kids were done with all this Digimon nonsense." She began to dab the cloth on Tai's forehead.

"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice as far as the Digital World is concerned," Sora answered, listening to the ringing on the other side of her cellphone's connection. "But what's weird about it is that none of our Digimon have contacted us to tell us that something's wrong." 

A voice answered on the other side of the connection, sounding a bit breathless. "Hello?"

"Oh, hey Joe!" Sora answered. "Look, I think we're going to have to meet at Tai's apartment, 'cause I don't Tai's in any condition to be going anywhere." She glanced over to Tai, who was shaking uncontrollably, with a worried gaze.

**Bunch of Hype**

Izzy dragged himself to the quite broken-in recliner and plopped down. Not only was he especially unwell, but also bored out of his mind. His dad, well, his step-dad, was using the computer for business matters, and it seemed he wouldn't be getting off anytime soon. He fumbled around for the well-used remote, finally locating it just under the seat of the couch. He pressed the _Power_ button.

It was on one of the main stations, and a female news reporter was on the screen. With a puzzled expression, he glanced up at the clock: 9:12.

_"It's not time for the news yet,"_ Izzy thought, confused, and a little annoyed at the fact that his favorite gadget show wasn't on instead. Then he finally took note of the place that they were broadcasting from. 

The area was well-lit due to all the lights from police cars, bathing all the trees and shrubs surrounding the area with rotating shades of scarlet and sapphire. The place where most of the law enforcers were at was a somewhat plain stage, with large speakers at the back and sides. Chairs were at the front of it, seeming oddly undisturbed.

"That's the park..." Izzy murmured aloud, unknowingly leaning closer towards the screen. He found himself in another coughing fit before he was able to listen to the reporter's words.

"...the boy vanished around the time of 8:32 or so. Witnesses say that he seemed to become ill, then an odd smoke appeared around him. They also say that the singer seemed to flicker like an image on a TV screen, and was raised up into the air just before he literally disappeared into thin air. Let's have a word with one of the chief investigators of this rather puzzling case."

An older man, probably about in his late 30's and wearing the standard police outfit, stepped into the camera's view.

"Mr. Imazowa, do you have any clues as to what might've happened to Yamato Ishida tonight?' the reporter asked. "Well, from the little time we've had to investigate this case, so far we have little..."

Izzy wasn't around for the rest of the interview. By then, he was already out the door, not even bothering to shut it properly behind him.

He was bounding down the sidewalk, determined to reach the scene as fast as he possibly would be able to. But speed and endurance were never his specialty, so with that burdening him as well as his illness, he soon found himself leaning against a building. He wasn't quite able to catch his breath, and the frequent coughing spells weren't helping any either. The cement beneath his feet was steadily swaying back and forth, slowly building up momentum with each swing. He took a step forward, but that shattered any sense of balance he still had. Nearly collapsing, he found that he had no choice but support himself using the wall again.

"Izzy!"

He carefully looked up to see Joe standing nearby.

"Joe!" he exclaimed, still panting a little. "Matt...Matt, he...where is he? Where'd..."

He was broken off when the whole town began to spin around him, gradually at first, then at an increasingly rapid rate. He shut his eyes tight and moaned.

"Izzy?"

Not long after, his legs snapped from under him, and every sense was all but drowned out.

_"Izzy!"_

**To Make it All Go Away**

Chikara Hilda wasn't quite sure what made him wake up. There was nothing that seemed obviously wrong. It was just a peaceful quiet night, as mundane a night as there ever was.

And yet, no matter how much he wished it to come back to him, slumber would not return to the grandparent. With a weary sigh, he decided to take a walk outside.

No sounds were heard besides the insects orchestrating their symphonies. The main source of illumination was from an old-style hanging lamp nearby. The old one gazed up to see a starless and moonless sky, but the numerous fireflies more than made up for that. They were only specks of light, shining their glow almost nothing to their backdrops, but there were thousands of them, which made the scene all the more mystical.

He was turning around to leave this dream landscape when he heard someone coughing not far off. After his eyes did some searching, he noticed Cody kneeling down on the flawless grass. He was looking up at the sky, and at the countless lightning insects hovering around him. Then tiredly he let his head droop down, and he blinked sluggishly, each time his eyes staying closed longer. Soon after he went into another coughing fit.

"Cody!" the old man exclaimed, rushing over to him. 'You shouldn't be out here. You're still ill." He stretched his arm out to touch Cody's shoulder. 

Suddenly Cody's shoulder flickered, zapping his grandpa just slightly.

A confused look sprang onto the old man's face. "Cody...?"

Now Cody's entire body was flickering erratically, making him seem almost translucent at times. Something oddly warm brushed past his leg. He quickly looked down to see that something serpentine was distorting the appearance of the ground and was cycling around his grandson. It spun around Cody like a lazy tornado, going up as high as his neck.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Cody?"

His voice seemed so distant, the speech dissolving into nonsense. A heavy blanket of heat cloaked Cody, distorting his perceptions. He was having trouble determining where the words were coming from, as it seemed to echo all around him. The main thing he was aware of was of the mass of green embers dancing about against the blackness, giving the impression that they had nowhere to go.

_"Cody..."_

He could make out the word his time. He lifted his head slightly as he looked in the direction of the call.

"Grandpa?" he murmured.

Oddly enough, this seemed to help drag him out of his fevered trance. The darkness above him faded back to a deep blue, and the darkness below was replaced by a lush green. A closer inspection of one of the embers reminded him that these were in fact living creatures. Nearby, he could mostly make out his grandfather. 

Of course, this was far from a cure. His body still had static ridges running up and down it, and the odd mist still circled around him. He still felt as sick as ever, soon indicated by throatier coughing.

His grandpa, not sure whether to be a bit relieved or not, started to come a bit closer to him. It was then that he remembered.

"Stay away, Grandpa."

The old man paused in confusion.

"This...I think this is something from the Digital World,' he explained. "Some kind of virus."

_"The Digital World. Of course..."_ his grandpa thought. That'd be just about the only thing that could cause something like this.

"Well, whatever it is, it's contagious," Cody continued. "So I can't go to the others, or else they'll get sick too."

"Do they know about this?" his grandpa asked.

"No,' Cody replied. "They can't know.'

"But I'm sure that they could help you more than I can,' his grandpa replied. "After all, I'm not a DigiDestined.'

Cody just sighed. "No. If I tell them, then they'll all come up here in a panic and end up getting infected. I don't want that."

The old man remained silent for a while.

"I know you're just trying to help, but..." Cody began. "...if everyone rushes up here, then it's only going to make things worse...'

"I see..." his grandpa replied. "Well, I'll go get you some prune juice then."

Cody smiled a little at him. "I don't think that's gonna work this time."

"It's worth a shot."

Cody shook his head as much as vertigo allowed. Grandpa and his prune juice.

The old man had just stepped into the house when the nearby phone erupted with a shrill cry.

_"Who'd be calling at this time of night?" _he wondered as he made his way toward the phone.

"Hello! Hello! Is Cody there!" a frantic voice that sounded remarkably like TK spoke. 

"Cody's...not feeling well right now," he replied. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong!" TK shouted back, almost in hysterics. "Everyone's dropping like flies!"

The old man's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone's being infected by something from the Digital World!" TK yelled "It's...it's making them disappear into thin air or something. Look, if there's anything weird about Cody's illness, then bring him down to Tai and Kari's apartment immediately!"

He took a quick glance through the open door at Cody.

"Understood."

_And so the chaos has begun XD. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too, even if the DigiDestined didn't._

_(All the DigiDestined glare at me)_

_So…anyway, please R&R! The next chapter will be up shortly._

_Oh and it's okay, Lit. As long as you aren't mad anymore . _

_And I thank everyone else for their reviews as well. _


	4. Here We Go

_Me: Hey, I'm back again!_

_Tai: Joy…._

_Me: Oh, be quiet. It's my Digimon's Mood's idea, not mine. _

_Tai: It's still part of you, though _

_Me: Yeah, I know, but still….oh yes, (points over to thing impersonating Tai) this is my Digimon Mood, DM for short._

_DM: Muwahahaha…._

_Me: As you can see, he's evil Oo_

_Matt: Shouldn't you be commenting on the reviews?_

_Me: Huh? Oh yeah!_

_Litanya: Glad to hear that you like it so much! I'm thankful that you've been commenting on all the chapters too. Yeah, it's weird, but for some reason I always torture my favorite characters the most Oo. I've noticed others saying this too. Wonder why we writers do that._

_Tai and Matt: _

_Takuya: Congratulations! You have the grand total of one review for the last chapter _

_Me: Haha, very funny. Well, I'm new, so I'm not expecting too many reviews at once. And what're doing here anyway? You don't show up 'til later! (Pushes him away) Um, anyways, anyone want to do the disclaimer?_

_TK: Neither The Light's Refrain nor DM own us in any way whatsoever. We're merely working for her because ever since Digimon 02 ended, we've been desperate for work and had to resort to taking roles in fanfics._

_Me: Thanks TK, Now for the fic!_

_Izzy: Finally….. _

Data Set 15: Living Phantom

"Now what?" Gatomon murmured, stirred from her slumber once again. She lazily rolled onto her belly and looked down from her almighty branch. Nothing came into her sights, much like before. With an irritated sigh, the purple-striped cat rolled back over onto her back and tried to get back to sleep. Her rather large ears remained alert, twitching a little, while her sinewy tail hung down. It remained slightly curled at the end, to make sure her golden tail ring didn't slip off.

"Hey Gatomon!" a high pitched voice called out.

She immediately sprang up, her white fur now standing on end. Her startled gaze soon found the source; an orange-and-tan creature with big blue eyes and bat wings for ears.

"Hello Patamon….." Gatomon grumbled, with a slight annoyance in her tone. Her fur, sensing no more danger, laid itself back down. "So, what's up?"

"Well….Agumon and Gabumon aren't feeling so great,' Patamon replied, looking a little concerned.

"What's wrong with them?" Gatomon asked.

"Sick,' Patamon responded.

"Well, that figures,' Gatomon stated. "Something's going 'round. I just paid a visit to Tentomon recently, and he was looking pretty miserable. He said something about Palmon feeling really bad too."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Patamon answered.

"And on top of that, Mimi's sick too,' she added.

He chuckled a little. "Well-"

Their casual chatter went no further.

"Gatomon…" Patamon whispered, his small body rigid.

Gatomon's eyes narrowed and her ears went back slightly. It was that presence from before, the once that had woken her up. It was drifting somewhere among the playground of trees, just out of sight. The movement was sluggish yet quite erratic at points, seeming to suddenly be in another place within moments.

Crouched down, her ears now almost level with her body, Gatomon turned her wary glare to where the presence seemed to be. The hairs along the edge of her back and on the upper part of her chest raised themselves up as a low growl was let loose from her throat. Her tail was lifted up high above her, swaying slightly. The holy band upon it was emitting a faint light.

"Show yourself."

And so he did.

Gatomon's expression shifted from suspicion to shock in a matter of moments. 

"What the hell?" she murmured, almost below hearing. "Matt?"

His image was distorted by sadistic screeches and aggressive static and flickering. He walked towards in a sleepy state, maybe a dreaming state. Twin shreds of translucent mist spun around him, with random scraps licking at his heads and wrists. At his side was his DigiVice, being torn at by the static just like the rest of him. It gave off a dull red light that never changed its hue. His eyes had a clouded look to them, and their gaze remained on the grassy ground. In fact, Gatomon wasn't sure whether he noticed that they were there or not.

"Matt! Matt!" Patamon cried out, beginning to lift himself into the air using those bat wings he had for ears.

The screeching quieted itself a bit as he paused and looked up at Gatomon. His eyes were looking as drowsy as before, but he had been able to have registered Patamon's presence. Words were dropping out of his mouth, but they had a faded quality to them and their meaning became lost in a cave of echoes.

The looping fog hastened its cycle around Matt, which seemed to force Matt to keep moving ahead and lose track of Patamon. 

"Hey wait!" Patamon called out, flying after him. 

Matt's body gave a especially violent flicker as the corrupted vapor sped up its rotation around him. Before Patamon could reach him he was gone, vanished from sight. The round field and its surrounding trees fell silent as the screeching came to a sudden halt.

"Something's really screwed up here,' Gatomon hissed, her white fur standing up slightly as her tail thrashed around behind her. "Patamon!"

"Yeah?" he replied a little shakily.

"Go find the others," Gatomon ordered. "I'm gonna try to get a hold of Kari."

Data Set 16: All Together

"Tai! Hang on!" Kari cried out. 

His body was flickering viciously, but Tai didn't seem to feel it. He just remained in searing yet tranquil slumber on his side, oblivious to the slices of haze revolving around him. One shred of translucent fog was carrying his blanket around, imitating a pale gray specter. He was threatening to lift off the sofa himself. 

Frantic shouts could be heard from a room just out of sight. The yells were brought into being by TK and Sora, something about Yolei. The racket soon died away, replaced by a guilty quiet. Hushed, the two of them uneasily entered the living room.

Before Kari could ask them what she already knew, Sora's cell phone chimed a tune that sounded suspiciously like "Ring Around the Rosies" from the counter top.

Sora picked it up and touched the _talk_ button. "Yeah?"

"Sora!" Joe's remorseful voice answered from the other end. "I-I lost him...only a few more blocks..."

"I see," Sora replied quietly "We just lost Yolei."

"What about Cody?" Joe questioned.

"We lost him about fifteen minutes ago,' Sora replied. "He didn't make it here either..."

"Oh..." 

"Look, just come here and we'll try to sort things out,' Sora advised.

"Allright..."

There was a timid click at the other side of the connection.

Sora sighed and clenched her phone. "Dammit..."

_"Tai!"_

Sora snapped her attention back to the last enduring patient. Tai was now rising well above a foot from the couch.

"Oh no you don't!" Sora protested as she dashed over to Tai and attempted to hold him down. Her hands went straight through him.

An especially strong wave of static rushed through him, and that was it.

Now the apartment was swimming in silence, as everyone's sight was still where Tai once was.

A jolt of noise shot through the soundlessness.

_"Kari! Kari!"_

It had erupted from Kari's DigiVice.

She plucked it from her side. "Gatomon!"

"Gatomon, what's going on over there!" Kari barked.

"Well...other than the fact that Matt's floating around all staticy and stuff, not much," Gatomon replied, sounding almost casual about it.

"Matt!" TK cried out, running over to Kari. "Where!"

"At the Second Veldt Terminal,' Gatomon responded. "...Do I want to know what's going on over there?"

"Well, not really, but I'll tell you anyway,' Kari answered. "There's some kind of digital virus that's making everyone disappear, but not before making them plenty miserable one week or so beforehand. Matt vanished first, then Cody, then Yolei, then Izzy, and just now Tai. The rest of us are feeling okay right now, but..."

"I see..." Gatomon replied. "Some of the other Digimon have been sick too, but so far it hasn't been too bad...but if it's connected to this virus then...'

"Yeah, I know, Kari replied. "We're going over there now.'

She turned to the others. "Ready?" 

They all nodded and brought out their DigiVices, then headed for Tai's room, where his abandoned computer was stored.

Kari was about to enter the room when she saw her mother walk up to her from the corner of her eye. She seemed more than a little frightened, and had every right to be.

"Kari? You will make it back with Tai, right?"

The daughter smiled. "Of course Mom. We'll be right back."

Data Set 18: Tick Tock Tick Tock...

They didn't find themselves in energy form for long. Their bodies returned to their usual shape and size a good ten feet above the ground. They didn't have much time to protest as the lot of them crashed ever so gracefully into the sea of grass.

Sora, lucky enough to be stuck at the bottom of the human pile, found herself spitting out seeds and soil. TK's cap had fallen over her eyes, blocking out her sight.

TK was only a little more fortunate, lying on top of Sora.

Kari rested on top.

"Will you two get off!" Sora barked.

Kari and TK both exchanged startled yelps and began to get up.

Moments later, Joe materialized in the sky and landed on top of Kari. 

"Sorry I'm late!" he announced.

A cast of moans and grumbles greeted him.

"Yolei's right..." Kari mumbled. "We really need to start putting pillows here..."

"Kari!"

She looked up to see Gatomon and Patamon hurrying towards them.

"Hey guys!" TK greeted as the group untangled themselves from the heap.

"So anything new?" Kari asked.

"Ran into Mimi a little while ago," Gatomon replied.

"How's she doing?' Sora asked.

"Bout as well as Matt."

Joe's expression got even more worried. "But how'd she get sick? She lives halfway across the world!"

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "We haven't gone to see her in...what, a year?"

"It doesn't make any sense..." Joe continued. "I mean..."

Joe's voice trailed off as he seemed to lose track of what he was saying. Sora was also looking quite drained. 

"Guys?" TK questioned, looking anxious. "You okay?

Everyone froze.

"Y-yeah," Joe replied. "It's-it's nothing."

The screeching from their DigiVices that erupted soon after said otherwise. Static ridges coursed up and down their bodies.

"Th-Then again," Joe added, trying to smile.

Their DigiVices switched between red and white, but now the flashes were accelerating at a much brisker pace than before. As such, their symptoms were coming on much faster than the others. 

"What the hell's going on here!" TK hissed. He hid his harsher words under his breath.

"Well, everybody's getting real sick with a vi-" Patamon began.

"I know that!" TK snapped.

Patamon backed away slightly and said no more.

"Sorry," he added hastily. "I'm just kinda stressed out right now. First Matt vanishes into thin air, then Cody, then Izzy, then Yolei, then Tai, then we all go here to try to find them and suddenly Joe and Sora are getting real sick. Now..."

An odd pause followed.

"What is it TK?" Kari questioned.

"...You don't think..." TK began. "...that by just being here we're more vulnerable to the virus, do you?"

_Me: The plot thickens….._

_Takuya: Hey! When do I come in?_

_Me: Not 'til the next fic _

_Takuya: What? That long!_

_Me: It's not that long..._


	5. United They Fall

_Well…..there's not much to say here. Disclaimer anyone?_

_Sora: The Light's Refrain does not own Digimon in any way, shape or form. Thank god._

_Okay folks this is gonna be a long, rough chapter here..._

**One, Two, Buckle My Shoe...  
**  
"Uh..." Patamon responded. "It's...possible I guess..."

"Quick! We gotta get these two back!" Kari ordered.

TK gave a firm nod and managed a support Joe up. He held up his DigiVice with his free hand towards the sky. Instantly it parted for him, revealing an ebony sea of emerald zeros and ones just beyond the pale blue covering. He and Joe were steadily rising into the air as deep green strings extended down and whipped around them. Their ascension soon increased rapidly, until their bodies were transformed into energy once more. The two points of rushing light were soon beyond the pale sky covering.

All seemed to go well, as the two points of light found no resistance from the ones and zeros around them. They merely bounced off of them. It wasn't long until there was a bright, shimmering light not far from sight; their destination. You could start to see some of the larger objects in the room, it was so close. 

It was then that the virus interfered.

It winded through all the ones and zeroes at a superb speed. The gap between it and the points of light was quickly diminishing, until it was merely a few feet away. Now within striking range, it wasted no time.

It slammed down on them like a giant whip, immediately halting their progress. Moments later, the two points of light reverted back to TK and Joe, unconscious from the blow. The lengthy blade of mist, having served its purpose, dissolved away as Joe and TK slowly began to fall.

After almost a minute falling, TK stirred from his forced sleep. He soon became aware of the static ridges running up and down his arms and legs and the fact that they weren't going up. He glanced to Joe beside him, who was still out cold. He could barely see Joe at all, his body had become so transparent and flickery.

He had looked just in time to see Joe be turned into digital dust.

It was just like a Digimon; first the feet, then the legs, progressing upward until there was no more Joe to see.

TK's words hid in his throat and refused to come out. All he was able to do was stare at the space where Joe was supposed to be.

Before he realized it, he was back in the Digital World, the portal still opened. When he did finally realize it, he ended up slamming into Kari and Sora, who were just beginning to ascend into the air. All three DigiDestined crashed back onto the ground.

"uuuuhhhnnnn..." TK groaned.

"TK!" Patamon exclaimed, flying over him. It didn't take him to notice how random parts of TK were flickering.

"Hey..." he replied. "I don't think we can go back that way..."

"What happened?' Kari asked frantically, as the pile of DigiDestined sorted themselves out.

"I dunno,' TK replied. "One moment I was being converted into energy, and the next I'm falling back to the Digital World."

Then Sora, managing to sit up, noticed something. "Where's Joe?"

It didn't take long for the others to become aware of this.

" I...I dunno," TK responded, also looking around for Joe. Boy, that was a lie. But if only it was the truth. "H-He wasn't with me when I woke up." _He wasn't with me for long, anyway... _

"Do you think maybe he got through?" Kari asked. 

"M-maybe..."

"TK..." Patamon whined.

TK shot a fierce glance at Patamon in case he had anything to say about his story. But he soon realized that wasn't the problem.

Patamon was also flickering somewhat, his little body lined with static ridges. His bat-like ears were drooping a bit, and his eyes looked slightly sleepy.

Before TK had the chance to say anything, though, a pink puffball with a short beak and a single red feather erupted from the nearby woods. Its tiny wings barely managed to keep it aloft, and often it bounced a bit on the ground before it could quite get back up in the air again. The puffball smacked into a couple of trees before plopping near the DigiDestined. It possessed a flickery image.

"Poromon!" Gatomon exclaimed, dashing over to him.

Within a few moments, Poromon's exhausted expression was replaced by a panicky one, and flew up into the air. "Gatomon! He's gone! He's gone! Gomamon's gone!"

"Whaddya mean he's gone?" Gatomon asked. "Gone where?"

"No! No! This is bad! This is bad! Bad bad bad!"

"What's so bad about it?" Gatomon questioned. "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"No no NO! It's not like that!" Poromon exclaimed, flying around in circles.

Gatomon grasped Poromon, whose wings were still flapping hurriedly. "Poromon, calm down! Now what-"

She paused, as did Poromon. Both carefully turned their heads towards the woods close by. Patamon also focused his gaze on the forest, his ears perked up a bit.

"What is it?" asked TK. He didn't have to wait long to find out.

The pinked-haired girl walked through a tree and into sight. The corrupted mist swirled around her, one strand lashing at Gatomon and Poromon. Gatomon jumped back and hissed at it, her fur on end. 

"Mimi?" Kari asked.

She gave a quick glance at Kari before she was broken up into fine particles before their eyes.

…**..Three, Four, Shut The Door….**

Absolute silence.

"Mi...mi?" Sora murmured. The event took its sweet time to seep in. "Mimi!"

"Oh my god...' Kari said in a hushed tone.

"Sh," TK hissed. "Matt, Matt where are you! MAAAAAAAATT!"

Poromon let out a pained wail. "That's what happened to Gomamon..."

"What?" Gatomon whispered.

"Yeah, he got all flickery and dedigivolved into Bukamon," Poromon explained. "Then all of a sudden he yelped and got a lot worse and then...he was gone."

"C'mon, we gotta hurry up and find the others!" TK exclaimed, running into the woody area.

"TK, wait!" Kari called out to him. "What about Sora?" 

"Have Patamon and Gatomon look after her,' TK yelled back. "We'll bring the others back here."

"Okay..." Kari responded, then turned to the three Digimon behind her. "You heard what he said. Take care of Sora."

Patamon and Gatomon nodded in unison.

"Wait! Take me with you!" Poromon shouted. "I need to find Yolei. I-I saw her eariler but I lost her."

"Allright,' Kari replied as she picked up the pink birdie ball with wings and rushed after TK

"Matt! Maaaaaaaaaaaatt!" TK cried out, shoving the thick growths aside. "Where are you? Maaaaaatt!"

He caught sight of a flickering image, but it was not his brother. Instead it was that redheaded brainiac that always provided the answers.

"Izzy!" he exclaimed.

His sleepy eyes looked up at him. TK could hear him speaking, but his words were distorted by all the echo in his voice and his tone was very quiet.

"What?" TK asked. "What are you trying to say?"

Izzy's eyes narrowed a little, apparently annoyed. He spoke again.

TK caught the words _virus_, _looked_, _repeated_, and _suspicious_, but little beyond that. But one pair of words came up over and over again.

As continued explaining, his body began to disintegrate. He seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that the lower part of his body was turning to dust and kept on talking.

"Izzy, no..." TK whispered. "Not you too..."

But Izzy didn't seem to notice and carried on his lecture, right up to when the last bit of him was blown away.

"TK!" he heard Kari cry out, and soon she was right behind him. She immediately noticed his downcast expression. "...What happened? Did Matt..."

"No, Izzy," TK replied. "H-He was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't make out what he was saying because his voice was all warped. I was only able to pick up a few words here and there.'

"I see..." Kari answered, also looking down at the ground.

"But there was one thing that showed up a lot while he was talking,' TK added.

"What's that?"

"_Travel Mark_."

"Travel Mark?" Kari questioned. "What's that?"

"No clue..." TK admitted, letting his shoulders sag.

"Think that might be the name of the virus?" Kari asked.

"I dunno..."

Poromon perked up and was intensely focused on a certain part of the woods.

"What is it?' Kari asked. 

"I think it's Yolei!" he exclaimed, squeezing out of Kari's grip and bounding off into the woods. His voice now had an odd echo to it.

"Hey wait up!" Kari called out, she and TK dashing after him.

They didn't have to run far. In fact, Kari ended up tripping over Poromon and landed flat on her face. She heard distant laughter as TK helped her up.

Standing before them was Yolei, her face cheery despite the fact that her body had static ridges sliding up and down it and that her image was overall distorted.

"Hello,' she greeted, still smiling for whatever reason. The hello repeated itself several times even though she only said it once.

"Yolei!' Poromon cried out, hopping over to her feet.

"Oh hey there little fella!" she replied, crouching down.

"Yolei, shouldn't you be a bit more concerned about your condition?' Poromon asked. At least, that's what Kari and TK figured he'd said.

She shrugged, starting to look more transparent.

"Do you have any idea where the others are?' TK questioned.

"Others...?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"You know, Cody, Tai, Matt," TK added.

She slowly shook her head, picking up the drowsy Poromon.

"Oh..." TK replied, rubbing at a particular spot on his arm that wouldn't stop flickering. "Well, come with us then."

"Okay!" Yolei chirped.

TK and Kari began to walk back. Yolei took a few steps forward, then paused when her and Poromon's body flickered especially violently.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked. Well, that was a stupid question.

"Oh,' she said in a disappointed tone. "I'm sorry, but I got to go now. Bye!"

Before anything else could be said Yolei and Poromon dissolved into dust.

…**.Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks….**

TK and Kari were somewhat shocked at her sudden disintegration, but soon forced the event back a bit in their minds. Right now what they really needed to do was find the others who were still alive, and hopefully get them back to where Sora was in one piece. As for after that...they'd work on that when they got there.

As the children of Light and Hope went deeper into the forest, TK's cellphone started bleeping _Pop Goes The Weasel_. Annoyed, he plucked the cellphone from his side to see who was calling. Apparently it was Ken.

"We better tell him what's going on,' Kari stated. "That-"

"No,' TK disagreed. "If we call him here, then he'll just get infected like everyone else."

"But it's possible he's already infected by the virus,' Kari protested. "At the very least, answer his call."

"Allright,' TK huffed, flipping the top of his cellphone and pushing the _talk_ button. "Yeah?"

"Hey!" came a happy voice on other end of the phone. "Guess what?"

"What?' TK growled.

"I've got this great new tool in fighting evil Digimon, and even some unruly normal ones!" he explained in high spirits. "It's something I got from an old friend, it really-"

"Ask him if he's feeling allright," Kari insisted, as TK smoldered from Ken's blissful report.

"Look, are you feeling okay?" TK asked somewhat harshly. "You haven't been feeling sick, have you?"

"Huh? Oh no, I've been great, just great!" Ken replied cheerfully. "This thing could probably-"

"That's all we need to know, thanks,' TK responded, slamming the top down on his cellphone.

"That was a bit cold, don't you think?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, I know, but we don't have all day to listen to his story about his wonderful new invention or whatever," TK hissed back. "C'mon let's go.'

Kari followed behind him silently.

It was only a few moments later before the tune of _Pop Goes The Weasel_ was emitting from his cellphone once again.

TK angrily pressed the _talk_ button. 'What!"

"Something's going on over there, isn't it?" Ken asked, his tone back to its usual seriousness. "I can tell by your voice.'

TK let out an aggravated sigh. "Look, just stay out of this. You don't want to get involved."

"Why not?' Ken questioned. "Last time I checked, I was part of this team too."

"This is one of those times when being a team just makes things worse,' TK responded.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that even if you came to help, there wouldn't be anything you'd be able to do," TK replied. "I dunno if there's anyone who'd be able to do anything that isn't already caught up in this mess."

"Are you saying that I'm inferior?' Ken growled. "For your information, I've got this new weapon that'll make any Digimon-"

"WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH A DIGIMON HERE!" TK yelled into the cellphone. 'SO WHATEVER DIGIMON-KILLER YOU GOT AIN'T GONNA DO-'

TK's screaming session was cut off by a loud cocktail of screeches and crackles that was causing the cellphone to tremble in his grasp.

"Wha-" he murmured, and then looked up. Right before them was Matt and Tai.

Tai! Matt!" Kari and TK exclaimed at once.

Neither Tai nor Matt had anything to say, only glancing up at them wearily. The feet hovered just above the ground. The mists coiled around them and laid on their shoulders like serpents.

Matt hovered backwards at a slight angle, passing through an especially large tree.

"Wait!" TK cried out, rushing after him.

"TK!" Kari called after him, but she was given no response. Instead, she focused back on her brother. "C'mon Tai, let's go back. We'll get this all sorted out, I promise."

She took a step forward. He floated backwards an equal distance.

"Tai? What's wrong?' Kari asked.

His empty eyes looked into hers. There was no expression on his face other than some slight confusion.

She tried to lighten up her tone a little. "C'mon, let's go! Sora's waiting for you.'

He didn't move from his spot, only eyeing her slightly apprehensively.

His body flickered more violently, then went through a unstable stage of phasing in and out, but he seemed to be able to stabilize himself again. "But..." he trailed off, the word repeating itself several times, sometimes overlapping each other.

"But what?' Kari asked.

His final words echoed in the air and in Kari's mind even after he became dust in the passing wind. 

_whoarewhoarehoyouarewhoyouaereyouwhoarewhoarearewhoyouarewho_

_Who are you?_

TK bounded through the woodland, not caring as wayward branches and thorns scratched at his face. The static ridges upon his body were behaving more aggressively and did their part to hamper his progress. Why did all of these trees have to look the same? He stumbled over a piece of root arching up above the ground and landed flat on his face.

"Damn it..." TK growled as he spit out sticks and dirt. "Where the hell did he go?"

He heard a jumble of words come from not far away, in a very familiar voice. 

TK turned around to see Matt floating nearby, seeming amused at TK's frustration. He spoke again, and TK was pretty sure he said something like _Graceful as ever, little bro._

As his brother hovered backwards a bit, TK yelled. "Hey wait!" With a bit of effort, he managed to get back on his feet and pursued him.

As he followed, an old memory crept into his mind. He and Matt were chasing each other around the park, and Matt always managed to stay one step ahead of him. It must have been before their parents divorced, for they sat on the park bench together, smiling happily as their children played. Yes, they had been very little back then, for Matt himself could barely climb up the kiddy slide they had had there. Of course, TK himself couldn't climb it at all, so he whined and whimpered about it to his parents.

The memory began to overlap his vision, as the flickering Matt, who was now sitting on top of a giant rock, was slowly replaced by a younger Matt standing on top of the kiddy slide, smiling triumphantly.

"Hey, that's not fair!" TK yelled at Matt. He turned to another place, occupied by only trees and shrubs. "Mooooom! Daaaad! Make him come down!"

"Matt, come down from there,' his mother's voice replied. TK saw her sit sitting on the bench, mild amusement in their eyes.

As if hearing her, Matt huffed and let out a quiet "Fine..." before sliding down the rock. He began to run away, only his feet didn't quite touch the ground, taunting "You can't catch me!"

"Oh yes I can!" TK retorted, running after him with a mischievous grin on his face. There was nothing else that mattered; all he had to do, all he had to worry about was catching Matt.

Matt looked back at him and smirked. "You're too slow." He leapt over a large rock that happened to be in his way and narrowly avoided tripping over a dog.

TK ended up tripping over said dog, but he paid little mind to it and immediately got back up and continued the chase, even though it sounded like the dog was trying to talk to him.

It seemed it would never end. There was nothing but neatly clipped grass going on and on, with the occasional tree dotting the landscape to spice things up. But that was fine with TK, because he didn't want it to end. No cares, no problems, just him and Matt playing a simple game of tag.

Matt was thrown off-balance by a stampede of random dogs, and soon ended up falling right on his butt.

TK tackled him all the way to the ground. "I got you! I got you!"

Matt just smiled. "Allright...you win."

Then suddenly TK found himself back in those shadowed woods, on his hands and knees as his brother's data was rising up into the air.

…**.Seven, Eight, Lay Them Straight…..**

TK noticed his name echoing through the woods. It took him awhile to remember who's voice that was.

He managed to force himself back onto his feet. The flickering had only gotten worse since the last time he was aware of his surroundings. This was the reality, this is what was really happening.

Soon Kari came into view, almost as scratched up as he was. Now her right arm was flickering, and she had grown very pale. Her expression only became more worried when she saw him.

"Matt? Did he-" she began.

TK just kept his gaze on the ground.

"Oh...and Tai, he..."

"Didn't make it either?" TK finished for her.

"No..." Kari replied.

Neither one said anything else.

"Guys!" cried out a high, desperate voice.

Moments later a tan, round creature with wing-shaped ears bounced on the scene. Like just about everyone else, his body had static ridges and corrupted mist swirling around him.

"Upamon!" Kari exclaimed.

"I-It's awful!" Upamon whimpered. "Everyone's gone! They just keep on deleting, one by one..."

"Yeah, we know," Kari and TK replied, almost flatly. They didn't really want to get into the subject.

"So...have you seen Cody?" TK asked finally.

"No,' Upamon replied, his ears drooping.

"No?" a voice asked.

TK and Kari snapped around, trying to find the source of the distant voice.

"That way!" TK announced, pointing and dashing off. Kari picked up Upamon and rushed after him.

They didn't have to run far. Soon they came to a somewhat cleared spot, where Cody stood.

Upamon's ears twitched a little. "Cody?"

The boy looked over to Upamon with an odd expression on his face. "Cody?"

"That's who you are!" Upamon replied.

"That's who you are?" 

"No, you!"

"No, you?"

TK just shook his head. "Don't bother, Upamon."

"Don't bother, Upamon?"

Kari gave a somewhat scared look over to TK. This was the child of Hope.

Upamon whimpered a little. 

Cody whimpered back.

TK said nothing.

"Cody?" Kari asked.

"Cody?"

It was no use. 

"...Sorry."

"Sorry?" Cody repeated. But before anything more could be said there was no more Cody to talk to. At the exact same moment, Upamon dissolved in Kari's arms.

Restless quiet.

"C'mon, let's go back."  
"She's gone too, huh?" TK asked.

Gatomon and Patamon nodded slowly. Actually, Patamon had dedigivolved into Tokomon while they were gone, and was now white with ziggyzaggy ears.

"We're sorry,' Gatomon responded. "We tried to watch after her, but then she kept saying that she was all alone even though we were right there, and not long after that..."

"I see...' Kari replied. 

TK turned around and started going back to the woods. 

"Where are you going?" Kari questioned.

"Where else?" TK replied. "I'm going back to find Matt."

Kari was taken aback. "TK..." she said in a pained voice. "Matt's gone."

"What are you talking about? We just haven't found him yet, that's all," TK replied, sounding completely sure of this. "So I'm gonna go find him." His voice had an odd echo to it as he said this.

"No! He's gone!" she cried out, running over to where he was.

"No, that's wrong, that's wrong," TK answered, some mist materializing around him. "I've just...got to find him...I've got to...got to..."

The ground rushed towards him.

_"TK!"_

**Solitary Nine**

"Don't you do this to me too," Kari pleaded as she looked over the unconscious TK. He had passed out a little while ago, and was now covered up by some blankets that Gatomon somehow managed to scare up. Beside him lay Tokomon, also in a deep sleep, with his ears completely drooped down. Kari tried to shoo away some of the corrupted mist away, but all it did was make her hand flicker more.

"Gatomon..." she called out to her Digimon. "What should I do?"

The purple-striped cat was sitting nearby, her tail twitching as the golden ring barely stayed on. "I dunno..."

"I see..." Kari replied. Then her face brightened a little. "Hey, what about Gennai?"

Gatomon paused for a moment as she thought it over. "I guess it could work...if we can find him..."

"Any idea where-'

"Unnnngh..."

Kari spun around to see TK finally come back around.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're awake!" Kari stated.

TK managed to sit up, his large white cap falling over his eyes. He gave an annoyed grunt as he pushed it back into place.

"How are you feeling?" Kari asked.

TK didn't respond. Instead he snapped his head in the other direction, a look of rage popping up on his face.

"TK?" 

"Damn bastard!"

He leapt to his feet and started throwing punches in midair, determined to beat up this opponent that only he could see.

"TK, what are you doing!" Kari cried out.

"You think you can just enslave innocent Digimon!" TK shouted at the invisible foe, his voice beginning to echo more. "They're nothing but toys to you!" He was knocked back by an unseen punch, then went right on attacking.

Then she remembered. It was the time TK fought with the Digimon Emperor, better known later on as Ken.

The battle stopped, as TK yelled at the nonpresent emperor about being a damn coward.

"TK! Stop it!" Kari called out.

_Today I saw my hero fall apart  
The one who taught me to be strong_

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Gatomon demanded.

_On the outside I look fine  
But on the inside I am dying  
My strength is overcome by pain_

"TK!" Kari exclaimed, running over to him and grabbing his arm.

For a moment TK looked back at her, seeming somewhat surprised, but soon after that he became focused on something else that Kari couldn't see.

"Stand back Kari!" he announced suddenly, extending his arms out protectively. "Those things aren't Digimon!"

Kari flashed back to when she was stranded in the World of Darkness for the first time, when he had come to save her. She was trying to help some Scubamon who had Dark Spirals on them. Only these weren't Digimon at all, for when she was able to remove the spirals, they turned into something completely different. It was around then when TK intervened.

"Angemon! Take them down!" TK ordered. Of course Tokomon was still out cold, so he got no reply that Kari could hear.

_It's hard for me to see you this way  
Losing all your sanity_

"Takeru...' Kari murmured. Now that she thought bout it, this was the first time she had ever called him by his true name.

He turned back to look at her, though she couldn't tell if he was really seeing her. "Kari, I care too much about you to let them take you without a fight.'

"Yes, I know..." she whispered.

He gave her a simple smile before his body disintegrated in the wind. 

Kari let her legs give way as she stared at the ground. The dam broke at last, and the tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. So much had happened already, but it was only now that the tears broke loose.

_My love for you remains the same  
The loneliness is sinking in  
I have no one to free my sins._

Gatomon approached her carefully and plopped down by her side.

_You helped me keep my dreams alive  
Without you, how will I survive?_

_Now I finally understand  
I can't run anymore  
I can't hide anymore  
I can't run anymore  
I can't hide anymore_

_Lyrics courtesy of Papa Roach's song "Do or Die" _

_I appreciate everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. Please don't flame me for this chapter, I have my reasons why things happened the way they did._


	6. Enraging Light

Tai: Now you've done it. You didn't get any reviews for the last chapter 

Me: Wah! XX

Sora: Oh yeah, since she's too last to go back and add it in, Matt's song is called Tobira and is not owned by The Light's Refrain either.

Me: Which brings up something; what exactly are the rules for posting lyrics? Is it okay if you give credit to whose lyrics they are, or is it forbidden completely? If the latter is true, then I see a lot of people breaking rules . If lyrics are completely forbidden, then I can easily remove them from the last chapter, but Matt has to be singing _something_ at his concert, and I can't have him going _lalalala, _so that might be more difficult….Disclaimer, anyone?

Davis: No, The Light's Refrain doesn't own Digimon. Nope, no way, nada, not a bit.

Me: Story time! Please leave some reviews this time, even if they are bad TT

**Wingless Angel**

"Gone..." Kari muttered to herself. "Everyone's gone..."

Her entire body had been flickering for some time now, but she seemed to barely notice it.

"Kari..." Gatomon replied softly.

"And it won't be long until I'm gone too..." Kari added.

"Don't say that!" Gatomon snapped. "We'll pull through this, I know we will!"

"But for what?" Kari asked. "Everyone's dead..."

"No, not everyone," Gatomon replied. "You've still got Ken and Davis. And what about your parents?"

"True..."

Gatomon looked back down on the ground. "And their partners will come back, at least. It's not like we Digimon stay dead..."

Kari continued to stare at Gatomon. Something was bugging her at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite tell what.

"They'll be Tokomon and Bukamon and Tanamon and Koromon and..."

Then it hit her.

"Gatomon!" she exclaimed, interrupting her Digimon's monologue. "Why aren't you sick?"

Gatomon let out a cry of surprise and looked at herself. She was right. Her body hadn't even been flickering at all this whole time. And from what she had seen, the Digimon got sick with their partners...

"I-I dunno," Gatomon admitted.

The white feline sank into deep thought. Why wasn't she sick? What made her different from the rest of the Digimon? What would have the power to-

"The tail ring!" Gatomon exclaimed, suddenly snapping her head back to look at it. It had been giving off a gentle glow ever since this had all started, beginning to when she and Patamon had first seen Matt. Why the hell hadn't she noticed it before?

She always knew that the tail ring held a great deal of power. After all, it had been taken from her so that its power could be used to help shield the whole Digital World from evil, among some other things. So it wouldn't be so hard to imagine it protecting her from some wayward virus.

She slid the golden ring from her tail to her palm, then held it out to Kari. Her body flickered slightly. "Take it."

"But what-"

"Take it,' Gatomon repeated, more sternly this time. "Digimon come back. People don't."

A few more moments passed, Gatomon's expression leaning more towards annoyance than fear. Hesitantly, Kari reached for the ring and took it away from Gatomon's paw. Almost immediately after Gatomon started flickering more violently, but she only smiled and nodded to Kari. She gave a unsure nodded back, then slipped the ring onto her finger.

With little delay both Kari's and Gatomon's bodies became stabilized. 

Kari's face lighted up. "Gatomon, you're okay!"

Gatomon had a slightly astonished look on her face as she realized that she was back to normal as well. "Well whaddaya know? I guess if the DigiDestined partner is protected, then the Digimon is protected as well. Or something like that."

Kari smiled and gave a firm nod.

"Hey Kari!" a voiced called out.

Kari and Gatomon whipped around to see Ken running over to them, with Wormmon riding on his shoulder. "Anybody mind telling me what's going on around here?"

Kari grimaced. Did he have to ask?

**Remains**

"My god," was all Ken could manage to utter as he staring at the ground, seeming to hope the soil beneath his feet would say otherwise.

Kari nodded slowly. Her mind still couldn't quite grasp the concept that almost all of her friends were now dead. She was half-expecting at any moment they would suddenly pop out of the bushes and explain how it was all a prank, just a really sick prank. 

She looked back over to Ken and noticed he was wearing a simple necklace a black shard with a piece of a golden ring wrapped halfway around it.

"Ken, where'd you get that?" Kari asked.

"Oh, this was a gift from...a friend,' Ken answered, holding it up a little to admire it better.

Wormmon, who was in his own little world ever since Kari's story, suddenly became alert and twitched his green antennae.

"What is it?" Ken asked.

"There is a bunch of Digimon coming this way into an awful hurry," Wormmon replied.

"Huh?"

Only moments later a herd of Monochromon stampeded onto the scene. With the elephant-sized body of a rhino, fin-like ears, and tough black-and-white hides, these Digimon were not to be messed around with. And right then they weren't looking too happy.

"Digimon Emperor..." one of them growled.

Kari sighed. There were many Digimon who had never forgiven Ken for what he had done as the Digimon Emperor, even though those days were far behind him. As such, he often found himself being harassed from time to time whenever he came to the Digital World.

"I'm not in the mood to fight you,' Ken growled back.

"Too bad, we are!" another spoke up.

This wasn't looking good. Even though Gatomon could go to the Ultimate level, and Wormmon could go to the Champion level, they were no match for a pack of gutsy Monochromon.

Just as feared, some of the Monochromon charged forward, heading straight for them.

All Ken did was lift up his necklace up and look at the Monochromon. The ring fragment began to glow slightly, and then it shot out a widespread beam right at the rhino Digimon. The beam hit the Monochromon dead on. They began to glow, then started shrinking, tumbling over each other as Gotsumon. The pebble-constructed Digimon promptly lost their courage and fled back into the woods from which they came.

"You dedigivolved them!" Kari exclaimed.

"Yes," Ken replied. "A little something I found out when I was tinkering around with it. In fact, this was what I was raving about when-" He stopped himself.

Restless quiet.

"I see," Kari replied. "Let's just leave."

Ken nodded in agreement, and began to raise his DigiVice to the sky. But his expression changed suddenly and he let his arm fall.

"What is it?" Kari asked.

"What about Davis?"

Kari froze. Of course. If the virus could travel across the globe to seize one of its victims, then certainly it could get into Australia and...

Flashes of Davis wandering aimlessly around, scarcely aware of where he was with his body distorted by static and corrupted mist plagued her mind. She was determined to make sure that wouldn't happen to him too. But it could already be happening, or it may have already happened...

"So what do we know about this virus?" Ken questioned, his tone serious.

"Well, it can infect people in the real world," Kari began, mostly summing up what happened to everyone. "It causes flu-like symptoms in the person infected for about a week, then their bodies start flickering a lot and have some translucent mist swirling around them. Eventually it drags them into the Digital World, and it's impossible for them go back to the real world. When they're in the Digital World, the symptoms become much worse much more quickly. They...they become delirious and can't tell reality from dreams or flashbacks of the past..."

Memories of TK came rushing back to her. 

"And then...they disintegrate into digital dust." Kari finished.

"I see..." Ken replied. "So basically we're dealing with a virus that's at its strongest in the Digital World, but came also access and infect others in the real world, most likely through electronics. Let's hope that Davis doesn't decide to come here because he's bored, since this is the-" 

Kari noticed Ken's odd silence. "What?"

"But if this is the place where the virus is strongest, then why haven't I been affected by the virus as well?" Ken asked himself. "I mean, I've been here practically all day..." Well, he'd been on and off since his parents were busy showing him new colleges, but during the long trips from each college to the next, he'd been able to return to the Digital World. He thanked God that his parents weren't nearly as overprotective as they used to be.

"Good point,' Gatomon replied. "Have you been feeling sick at all during the past few days.

"No..." Ken responded. 'Well, actually...I've been feeling a bit sick at night, but I figured it was from all the traveling. And once I managed to drag himself through the morning I felt much better."

"Hmm..." Gatomon answered. "I take it you don't sleep with that necklace around your neck, do you?"

"No," Ken stated. "Wait, so you think-"

"Well, it can dedigivolve Digimon," Gatomon replied. "So maybe it's been protecting you from that virus too."

Ken analyzed closer. He took hold of his necklace, and began to pull it off. The instant it was completely off, he was seized by intense flickering. He hastily put it back on. "Apparently so."

"Ken, you got that necklace from a friend, right?"

"Yes..."

"He wouldn't happen to have anymore lying around, would he?"

"Maybe..." Ken answered. "I met him at the Fourth Forest Terminal, so he might be back there again. C'mon let's go!"

**Rooster Bloom**

They tore through the woods, stumbling over wayward roots and vines, and occasionally getting slashed by thorns and other spiny weeds. But this didn't matter as Kari and Ken rode upon their Digimon's backs through the woods; all that mattered was preventing any more death at the hands of the virus.

It was slightly awkward for Angewomon to navigate through all the overgrowth, considering that her three pairs of white wings were meant for open air and not cramped spaces like these, but she could manage. Adding the fact that she had a teenage girl riding on her back only made things more difficult. No one would've ever guessed that this blonde beauty had been a white, purple-striped cat with a long tail not so long ago.

Wormmon's evolution, Stingmon, was much more adept to this kind of environment. His lean, green-and-black body and his smaller wings were much better suited for zipping through tight spaces. Ken rode on the back of what was pretty much a wasp with human arms and legs.

"Which forest Terminal are we at now?" Ken asked.

"I'd say we're in the Third Forest Terminal," Stingmon replied. "Only a few more minutes to the Fourth."

"Good,' Ken replied, keeping an eye out for the hollow tree trunk that would give them access to the Fourth Terminal. "Almost there..." he murmured.

Soon the wooden slide came into view, patiently waiting for them to drop into it.

The DigiDestined did not get off her Digimon; instead, they stayed on their backs as they let the tunnel swallow them. The usual leaves and various other organic debris flew up as they rushed down the hollowed tree. The Digimon accelerated down the slide far faster than just slipping down it ever would. Before Ken and Kari even realized it, he were blinking in the bright sunshine of the Fourth Terminal.

Ken leapt off of Stingmon's back and onto the small meadow sheltered by imposing trees.

"Osamu!" he called out.

_"Osamu?'_ Kari thought, slightly puzzled. _"Wait, isn't that-"_

"There is no Osamu here,' a cold, mocking voice replied.

Kari and Ken snapped their heads to what seeming to be a rather strange clown. He wore a mask that was half-black and half-white, with a red heart on the white side, two swords and two blue ribbons on his back, and he wore an odd red top with ridiculous green pants and oversized, pointed shoes. He smiled not so innocently. "Hello again."

"Piedmon,' Kari growled.

"What do you want?" Ken growled. This was the first time he had ever laid eyes on Piedmon. Sure, he'd heard the horror stories about him and his brutality from the other, older DigiDestined, but he'd never actually had encountered him before.

"Oh, nothing really,' Piedmon grinned, floating closer to them. "I just heard you from not so far away and thought I might have a little fun with some old friends. So, how about a battle, for old time's sake?"

"No thank you, we have better things to do." Angewomon hissed.

"Oh?" Piedmon questioned. "Who said it was an option?"

Right after saying these words he darted at Stingmon and Ken. They were barely able to move in time.

Ken held up his necklace piece. Like before, a widespread beam shot from the ring fragment and struck Piedmon. Unlike before, though, Piedmon only glowed yellow for a few seconds before the light promptly faded.

"What!" Ken exclaimed

Piedmon chuckled. "You try to dedigivolve me, you foolish child. I was born a Mega. I Ihave/I no lower form!"

"Great, just great," Angewomon muttered.

It wasn't just time they were concerned about. You see, the levels in Digivolution started at Baby, which would go to In-Training, which would go to Rookie (the level most common in the Digital World, and often the main level of a DigiDestined partner) which would go to Champion, then Ultimate, and finally Mega. Piedmon was at the very top level. Sure, a large group of Ultimates could take him down, but one Champion and one Ultimate? Well, Gatomon had once reached the Mega level as Magnadramon, but that had been more of a fluke than anything, and she hadn't been able to do it since.

Angewomon deposited Kari into a tree before rushing into the fight. "Celestial Arrow!"

An arrow of light formed from thing air before launching itself at Piedmon. The shining missile buried itself into Piedmon's shoulder. He shot a glare at Angewomon and snarled.

Stingmon approached from the back while Piedmon was distracted. A blue spike created from light was sticking out from his arm, just above his wrist. Ken watched near the woods.

But Piedmon took quick note of it, and slashed at him using his twin swords. Stingmon got a cut across the chest and his arm.

"Stingmon!" Ken cried out.

"I'll be fine,' he replied, diving back into the fight.

Angewomon found herself hastily dodging Piedmon's attacks. Despite that he had a glowing arrow embedded in one of his shoulders, he wielded his two blades with ease. She saw Stingmon getting ready to attack again over Piedmon's shoulder.

Just as Piedmon was getting ready to look back, Angewomon delivered a swift jab right to his face. Taken by surprise by the quick blow, he got ready to slice Angewomon into ribbons when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He snapped his head back to see that Stingmon's blue spike had sunken deep into his back. If he hadn't been a Digimon, blood would've been everywhere. For that matter, if he hadn't been a Digimon, it would've ended right there. Angewomon destroyed his swords with Celestial Arrows, converting them to harmless bits of data that floated harmlessly away.

He let out an enraged, pained cry. He somehow managed to pull himself off the spike, and ascended into the air. His eyes were alight with fury.

"Make a fool out of me, would you?" he barked. "Well, you won't live long for that!"

Briskly he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and flung it at the humanoid bee. It was plunged straight into his heart. With a cry of pain Stingmon fell to the ground.

"STINGMON!" Ken screamed, horrified by the sight of his Digimon beginning to disintegrate. It was then that he noticed Piedmon heading right towards him, another dagger being held low.

There was no time to run.

In that brief instant, the crimson shot up like a cock's comb, from his stomach to his neck. The slim string that held the control spire shard and Destiny Stone ring was cleanly snipped. It landed softly not the ground as Ken fell backwards.

"KEN!" Kari screeched running towards him, almost stepping on Stingmon's fading remains. The blood hastily scampered from his body, forming in a almost perfect circle around him.

I"Oh god,'/I thought Kari. I"Oh god, oh god, oh god…."/I

"Monster!" Angewomon screamed.

"Why thank you," Piedmon replied, his hand and dagger drenched in wet scarlet.

As rage twisted her face, Angewomon began to glow a deep red. A pillar of crimson light gushed out of the ground below her, utterly obscuring her from view. The red light bathed the entire area, making it too bright for either Piedmon or Kari to see anything. When the scarlet illumination finally started to fade, Magnadramon stood in the place of Angewomon.

Only Magnadramon was different from before. For one, she was much, much, larger, more of the size and length of a Chinese dragon, as compared to her usual size of maybe eight feet long. Instead of soft pink, her fur was a deep maroon, and her eyes were yellow with red, narrow pupils. She still had the five pairs of wings, but her walking limbs were no longer present. She still had those slim, pointed thorns pointed backwards, but now they were a very dark red instead of just black.

Eyes focused right on Piedmon, a harrowing combination of a screech and a scream erupted from her throat. The cry lasted for a couple of minutes. For once, Piedmon looked just a tad bit afraid.

Kari stared at the dark incarnation of her Digimon. At any other time, under any other circumstances, she would've been horrified. But right then it didn't even faze her. Right then all she wanted to do was make Piedmon suffer, and suffer greatly. After all, she had just had the most harrowing day of her life; why shouldn't someone who actually deserved it not go through something just as bad?

"Fafner Inferno!" the dark Digimon screeched, belching out thick blue and purple flames upon Piedmon. The pitiless pierrot screamed as the flames engulfed him, taking him away from view. After a few more minutes of neverending flame, his cries were nothing but mere echoes as his disassembled data were lifted beyond the flames.

Magnadramon stopped spewing out the fire as she looked up towards the scattering data. A moment later, her body glowed a soft white as her image shrunk and shrunk until she had become Gatomon again. She tiredly managed to get over to where Kari was.

Ken had long since faded away, leaving only a pond of scarlet behind. Kari was kneeled over right where the blood stopped, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Why does destiny have against me today? I only helped save the world..."

In her hand she held the necklace piece, painted red. The string was lost somewhere in the pool of crimson. Kari looked down on it; at least it wouldn't go to waste...

"I'm ready to go back now, Gatomon."


	7. In the End

_Me: Here it is! The final chapter._

_Davis: I'm in this one too! Sweet!_

_Me: Disclaimer? _

_Gatomon: The Light's Refrain doesn't own Digimon. Not a scrap._

_Me: Stroytime!_

**Oh Innocent One**

_Almost Three Months Later..._

"Kari!" Davis announced happily, dropping his two loads of luggage and racing towards his old friend. His brown hair was as crazy as ever, and he still wore those silly goggles that used to belong to her brother. He was wearing a brown jacket with a kangaroo embroidered on one pocket, done in many bright colors with thick black lines, along with some torn-up jeans. The spire piece bounced around on a long silver chain around his neck.

"Hey bro! You gotta carry stuff like everyone else!" his sister yelled at him. He promptly ignored her as he always did.

Kari smiled timidly. "Hey.'

She noticed that one of the bags that Davis had dropped was squirming around unhappily. In a few moments, a small Digimon of the purest blue and white squeezed out of the bag. It had two odd appendages sticking out of its head, both somewhat ziggyzaggy. It ran over to Davis on all fours.

"Demiveemon!" Davis scolded,

His Digimon gave him big, sad eyes.

"Allright..." Davis relented, picking on Demiveemon and letting him stay on his shoulder.

Kari giggled. "So how was the trip?"

"Oh, it was awesome!" Davis replied. "Too bad you can't really ride around on kangaroos though."

Davis looked around the airport a few times. "Man, so they really all moved? This sucks!"

She had never told Davis what had really happened to the others. The last thing she wanted was to see Davis's carefree smile fade away into mourning and despair, perhaps never to return. It had been so hard on her, and she didn't want Davis to go through the same thing. No, let him think that they all had to move away for some reason or other, that was much easier to accept...

It wasn't a hard lie to tell. Almost all of her friend's families had moved away shortly after their children's deaths. They couldn't stand the fact that almost everywhere they went, their would be a painful reminder that her kids were gone. More importantly, there were memories everywhere of what cause their eventual downfall: Digimon.

"Yeah..." Kari replied.

"And they didn't even give us their addresses or anything!" Davis pouted.

"I know..."

"Tai having fun with his dad?"

Her dad was around so rarely, even more so than now that Tai was gone. Her mom suspected that it didn't just have to do with work these days. So it was easy enough to say that Tai decided to go with her dad. Her family was on the brink of divorce, she could just feel it.

"Yes, I'm sure he is," Kari replied.

"Hey, Kari, I wanna ask you something," Davis said.

"No, I'm not going out with you," Kari replied flatly.

"Man!" Davis whined. She could hear his sister's amused laughter.

"C'mon, let's go home and get some rest," Davis's dad insisted. "You can chat more with your friend later."

'Allright..." Davis grumbled, walking back over to pick up his fallen luggage with a little effort. "See ya!"

………………….

**ERROR**

A teenage boy with chocolate hair that seemed to have a will of its own strolled through what seemed to be a desert, humming the tune of Rockefeller Stank. His cheerful eyes, just as chocolate-hued as his hair, looked ahead calmly. He wore a sleek blue jacket with a plain white shirt and some faded jeans that were tattered at the bottom. An aged whistle hung around his neck, bounded by a string.

The sand warped underneath his feet with each step he took. Every time he began to lift up his feet, the ground clung to the bottom of his feet like wet tar, making it slightly difficult to break free. He became annoyed with this, so he began to float instead.

Soon his destination came into sight; a huge, stone throne occupied by a Machinedramon. His entire body consisted of a dull grey metal, with various thick wires running through his back and throat. Small cat Digimon called Gazimon were fanning the steel Digimon with palm leaves.

"Bring me my food!" Machinedramon barked. 

Several Gazimon scurried over, carrying a huge plate of delicately prepared meals of all kinds. Machinedramon snatched the plate, dumped it all into his mouth, and carelessly tossed the plate back onto the ground.

"More!" Machinedramon commanded.

"B-But-"

"MORE!"

The Gazimon yelped and darted off.

It was then that Machinedramon noticed the boy walking towards him.

"A _human_?" he scoffed. "What's a _human_ doing in my land?"

The boy smirked. Obviously this Digimon hadn't seen too many humans; otherwise he would know that most humans don't float slightly above the ground.

"What's so funny, human?" Machinedramon growled. "I'll let you know that I've conquered this entire sector barehanded, and I have also-"

While the steel Digimon went on to brag about his might, the boy summoned a sphere of fire and began bouncing it on his knee. After getting bored with this, he began bouncing it higher into the air using both his legs and his head.

"Are you even listening to me!" Machinedramon snapped.

He let the sphere of flame rest in his hand. "Nope!"

"Why you-" he began, thrusting his claw at the boy.

The boy easily evaded the attack, flying upwards until his gaze was level with Machinedramon's.

Ya know, your aim sucks," taunted the chocolate-haired boy.

Machinedramon let out a cry of frustration. The Gazimon cowered behind the throne.

As Machinedramon lunged for him, jaws wide open, the boy made his move. He tossed the fire sphere up into the air, yelled "Supernova Shot!" and his foot into the ball of fire. It was sent streaking through the air, some of the flames streaming behind it, and rushed down his throat.

The steel Digimon made a gargled noise of surprise before flames erupted all over his body. The boy watched with a look of satisfaction as the colossus let out a weak moan, collapsed onto the desert dust, and dissolve into data.

He closed his eyes as he began to glow softly. The loose particles were immediately drawn to him and became absorbed into his body. After a sigh, he looked over to where the Gazimon were hiding and put on a friendly smile.

They crept out slowly at first, then happily dashed over towards their new hero.

"That was awesome!"

"Yeah, you really showed him!"

"We can't thank you enough!"

"No problem," the boy replied.

"What's your name?"

"Me? I'm Atagu," the boy answered. "Nice to meetcha!"

_And there you go. Hope you enjoyed it _

_Yay! I got reviews this time! Thank goes to:_

_Litanya: I'm glad you're still reading this. I was afraid you'd stopped reading it._

_thegreatwhitewolf: Pleased to have a new reader aboard. I also like really dark fics, although this fic is especially dark for me. Oh course, since it's so much darker than normal, lots of people tend to get scared away, especially when the fatalities came along. _

_Well that wraps up this fic. In a few days I will post the main fic, Commencing Overwrite. It will contain all the seasons, though some characters and storylines will be altered to make things work. It will be more lighthearted than this fic, but that doesn't mean that it won't have its large share of evil moments muwahahaha…._

_Thanks to everyone who had read this. _

_BTW you can tell me your theories on the last part of this chapter ;) _


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